Live Commentary: Andy Murray vs. Marin Cilic - as it happened

Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of the Queen's final between Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.

The rain has finally relented in London, and we look as though we are going to get this match started at the second time of asking. The players made it onto court earlier, but after the warm-up, the rain returned.

Both Murray and Cilic are nearly at the end of their warm-up routine, and play should be getting underway in a couple of minutes. Now, I can't promise that this match is going to be completed without another delay, but keep your fingers crossed!

This is the 11th meeting between the two players. Murray has won eight of the nine meetings played on court, while he was also the beneficiary of a walkover.

That's the warm-up complete, and we are ready to go. It will be Murray to serve first.

That's a lovely first point from the world number two, who steps into the court to put away a fine backhand volley, before the Croat nets on the next. Murray moves to 40-0, but Cilic gets his first point of the final with a drop shot, but Murray responds with a forehand down the line.

BREAK! Murray has looked in the groove from the first point, and he soon moves to 0-30. A perfectly-executed slice forces Cilic into the error and it's three break points to Murray. The tall Croat saves the first two, but a whipped-forehand cross-court is too much for Cilic to handle and Murray has the early break.

The US Open champion finds himself in trouble on his serve after making two unforced errors, but he responds with a forehand winner. He is executing the one-two off his serve to good effect so far, and it works once more to get back to 30-30. However, Cilic latches onto a second serve to put his opponent under pressure to create a break point, but a first serve out wide makes it deuce. He replicates the same serve twice more to save further break point opportunities, and he finally holds on to further his advantage.

Cilic cruises into a 30-0 lead, but he lazily sends a volley into the net to allow Murray back into the game. He finds some kick on his second serve on the next two points which force Murray into the error, and the defending champion is on the board.

Murray required a comfortable game after narrowly avoiding losing his serve two games ago, but after strolling to 40-0, he sends two shots into the net, that would have been winners had they got over. He manages to seal the game when he adds a bit more bite to a backhand, which forces Cilic to net.

Cilic comes out on top in a game of cat-and-mouse when Murray nets a volley, before he sends a return long. The Croat is growing more into this match and a fizzing forehand moves him to game point. The British number one responds with one of his own, but another drop shot finds the net, and Cilic reduces the deficit.

BREAK! The drop shot is normally a productive feature of Murray's game, but the length and accuracy of it has been way off so far. This time, his effort is too long, and Cilic soon moves to 15-40 when Murray hits the ball into the bottom part of the net. He saves the first when a second serve catches the line and forces Cilic into the error, before the Croat makes a drop-shot error of his own. However, Murray is making far too many mistakes right now, and he relinquishes the early break of serve with two more, and we are back on serve in this final.

Murray constructs two excellent points to move to 0-30, but the big-hitting Cilic replies with a serve out wide. This is so much better from the Scot, who dominates a rally before stepping into the court to fire a forehand past the out-stretched reach of Cilic for two break points. Cilic saves the first, but Murray is down on the second, and it's an horrendous fall, slipping when attempting to change direction. He is back on his feet, but that looked pretty bad on first viewing. Cilic hangs on to his serve and we are level.

Murray still looks stunned by that slip, making two errors to hand 15-30 to Cilic. He strikes a big forehand to get back to 30-30, but he goes wide to concede another break point chance to the Croat. Murray replies with a huge ace, before he forces Cilic into a slip of his own with a cross-court forehand. Another big serve out wide earns him the game.

Murray is unfortunate when a shot is ruled long when it clipped the line, and Cilic takes advantage to win the opening point. A couple of weak shots from the Scot give Cilic three games points, and an ace sees him take the score to 5-5.

BREAK! All the luck is with Cilic right now, who benefits from the ball hitting the net cord and trickling over. He is also beginning to show his ability, after moving into the net to strike a passing shot past Murray. That second serve is far too short, and Cilic drives a backhand down the line for two break points. What was I saying about luck? Murray drops serve when a forehand hits the top of the net TWICE, and goes wide. Unbelievable, but it will be Cilic to serve for the set.

SET! The first two points are shared by the two finalists, but Murray goes 15-30 ahead when Cilic fires a forehand into the net. That's some fine defending from Murray, who forces Cilic into another mistake for two break points. A shocking attempt at a backhand slice gives away one of the points, and Cilic saves the net with a thunderous serve. He then moves to set point with an ace, which he seals at the first opportunity when Murray nets.

Murray needs an instant reply to halt the momentum that Cilic is beginning to build. and he does so in fine style with a love-service hold. That's the first of the match, I believe, which is strange for two players with strong serves.

A neat serve-and-volley is ruined when Cilic makes a double fault. However, Murray is unable to seize the initiative after making two more mistakes, and a powerful serve out wide gets the Croat on the board in the second set.

Murray nets on the opening point, but two first serves move him to 30-15. Cilic should level things up, but he nets after dominating a baseline exchange, but more errors from Murray take the game to deuce. There's a topsy-turvy feel to the Scot's game, especially with his serve, but he holds onto his serve with a topspin forehand.

Cilic takes the first point of the game, but two double faults in a row gift Murray 15-30. Cilic replies to level the score, before Murray goes millimetres long after a lengthy rally. That's good aggressive play from the Croat to finish the game, approaching the net which forces his opponent into the mistake.

Murray strolls through his second love-service game of the set, which is completed with a backhand that finds the corner of the court. He needs more of that if he is going to force this match into a deciding set.

Cilic is beginning to have problems with his serve, and his fourth double fault of the match hands Murray the first point. The duo then trade volleys, but Murray still has the advantage in the game. Two break points are created with another backhand into the corner, but they aren't taken when Cilic hits the winner. The Croat saves another with some excellent play, which continues on the next two points and we remain on serve.

Murray takes the first two points with some dominant serving, but another error lets Cilic in. He retains his composure to secure a comfortable hold of serve. A quick stat for you: There has been 18 break points in the match so far. That's a lot for this stage of the match.

That lucky net cord is back, and again, it is in Cilic's favour. He doesn't really need any luck given the way he is playing as he flies through the game for a love-service hold. We are getting to a crucial stage of the match.

Murray ups his intensity with a couple of heavy forehands, before stepping into the court to send a backhand winner down the line. He seals the game when a lob from Cilic goes long for a love-service hold of his own.

There has certainly been a bit more sting on Murray's forehands in the past five minutes, and another brings up 15-15. However, he can't capitalise as he goes long twice in succession, and Cilic seals the game with a well-played smash.

Murray's serve fell apart at this stage in the first set, but he looks more confident this time around, converting two smashes to bring up three game points, and he guarantees himself at least a tie-break when Cilic goes long with a backhand.

BREAK AND SET! The world number two opens up with the shot of the match, a perfectly-executed topspin lob, before he slices the ball wide for 15-15. A drop shot hands him the advantage, before Murray returns the ball at his feet for 30-30. Massive point coming up, and Murray takes it with a return off a second serve that lands at his feet once again. Set point to the Scot, and he takes it with yet another return that Cilic can't handle.

There is a spring in Murray's step now, and after an ace for 30-0, he runs down a casual-looking drop shot from Cilic to send the ball behind the Croat. The game is sealed with another big serve, and that's the perfect start to the decider.

That's a good response from Cilic, who plays a no-nonsense game in leveling things up, the game being sealed when Murray floated a shot over the baseline.

Murray nets on the opening point, but it fails to effect his concentration as a perfectly-timed lob and a driven backhand down the line sees him hold serve to 30.

BREAK! Both players are looking comfortable on their serve, and it appears as though that trend will continue when Cilic moves to 30-0. However, he nets twice in a row, and out of nowhere, Murray is back in the game. The Scot then forces the number five seed to net once more to bring up break point, before he shanks a forehand wide of the tramlines. That's a bit of a shocker.

This is Murray at his very best now. Firstly, he opens up with a forehand winner, before a soft-handed volley brings up 30-0. An ace brings up three game points for the Scot, and he races into a 4-1 advantage with an aggressive play down the line.

Cilic is falling a part a little now. At 15-15, Murray sends a lob skywards, but after letting the ball drop, Cilic's smash finds the bottom of the net. WOW! Murray then plays an impeccable point, taking everything that Cilic can throw at him before directing a cross-court winner past the Croat. Cilic shows great resolve to save the two break points and we are at deuce. How has Murray won that point? He is right at the back of the court, on the slide, but he gets back into the point before stunning Cilic with a winner, but the third break point chance is saved. The number five seed has hung in well in this game, and he holds on to make it 4-2 to Murray.

Cilic gets some help from hawk-eye on two successive points, but he still finds himself 30-0 down. He gets back to 30-15 when Murray nets, but the Scot then comes out on top in a punishing rally. A well-directed serve out wide forces to net and Murray is one game away from the title.

Murray fails to put any pressure on the Cilic serve on the opening two points, but he gets back in the game when Cilic can't handle a heavy forehand. The Croat then makes a glaring error attempting a forehand slice to make it 30-30. He then makes a double fault to handle Murray a championship point, but he misses out when a backhand catches the top of the net. A flat forehand keeps Murray in the game, but two errors on his forehand side keep the match alive.

The world number two starts well with a outswinging swerve, before he finally gets some luck from the net cord when a topspin forehand clips the top of it and takes the pace off the ball. Cilic makes it 30-15 when Murray wrongly challenges on the tramline, but two more championship points are created with another forehand winner, and he seals the match when Cilic nets with a forehand from the baseline.

Andy Murray wins the Queen's title for a third time after finally overcoming the challenge of Marin Cilic. It wasn't straightforward, but the Scot got the job done in the end.

There was a nasty moment in the first set when the US Open champion slipped at the back of the court, but he recovered to complete his preparations for Wimbledon in fine style. Credit also has to be paid to Marin Cilic, who also looks in fine form on the grass.

That's all from Sports Mole this afternoon. Thank you for joining us today, and be sure to return for when Wimbledon begins in just over a week's time. Goodbye for now.